The Final Warrior of Light
by Yamadori
Summary: Prequel to Maple Leaf. Spoilers up to Episode 24, and alternate storyline from 24. When most of the group is captured by Nene, Bouquet and Marumaro attempt a rescue. But as they search for them, they uncover secrets that may change everything.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, everyone. After some glitch with the site that wouldn't let me sign in, I'm finally back. And, as you can see, I brought a new Blue Dragon story with me. :) First of all, I would like to say that this is a prequel to my upcoming story, _Maple Leaf_. The first chapter actually takes place a little later from where the story was supposed to start, but I'll provide a quick summary of what happened:**

_Instead of sending Rogi's squad, Nene decided to intervene the Shu-tachi's advance. Shu, Jiro, Kluke and Zola have been collared and captured by Nene, with Bouquet and Marumaro just barely escaping (Bouquet nearly being killed during the fight). Regaining confidence and mapping a plan, the two attempt to save the others, even if they're not sure how successful they'll be. And Nene seems to have an ace up his sleeve._

**That's mostly it. The reason I did this was because I was having trouble writing out the fight scene with Nene, and I wanted to upload this soon, since **_**Maple Leaf**_** and its sequel will probably be my main series for the Blue Dragon anime (like most of you probably know, my main one for the game is **_**Blue Dragon Beyond**_**). I'd also like to mention that finding the title for this chapter was a nightmare to find. I won't even get into it. If the title is wrong, and you know what the proper romanji is, please let me know. Other than that, there's nothing else to really mention. Although, I'll give you a little spoiler for this story and **_**Maple Leaf**_**: I have changed who the seventh Warrior of Light is. I wrote this story before I knew who the seventh one was, and I've even altered it slightly from my original plan now that season one of the anime is over. But it's mostly the same, and will hopefully be an enjoyable read. And I'll give you another spoiler of sorts (well, more of a preview actually): the seventh warrior has a Panda Shadow, and can use a few Black Magic and White Magic based attacks. It's someone who you've seen before if you've kept up with the series, but I think it will come as a surprise to you. ;) Actually, there's a funny little thing behind the shadow. You see, I had thought of this a while ago, but I ended up finding out that on the TV Tokyo website poll, Panda was in fact the winner of that poll. But I had picked Panda before I found out! :O Scary. Anyway, there will be a disclaimer for this chapter (the **_**only**_** one for **_**The Final Warrior of Light**_**), and then we can get on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Dragon. But I do own some of the ideas of this story; I don't own any characters, save for the occasional OC that will appear. You'll know who they are. Probably.**

_Chapter 1: Kan Sukuu! (Daring Rescue!)_

The dark purple and red clouds loomed over the Fortress, as they always did. For some reason, it had landed in its old spot. The two cloaked figures who watched the activity in and out of the Fortress (mostly loading things in like supplies and loading out broken robots and equipment) figured that it must have landed to refuel and replenish their supplies. The two cloaked individuals were also in their previous spot, when they had first approached the Fortress.

The smaller figure turned to the taller one. "Bouquet... How are we going to rescue the others without anyone finding out, maro?" he said.

The taller figure pulled back their hood, revealing dark hair tied at each side of her head. "I don't know... The same way we got in, I guess. You won't do anything this time to alert everyone of our presence, will you, Marumaro?" she looked at him with lidded eyes.

Marumaro smiled sheepishly. "You don't have anything to worry about, maro. There's too much at stake this time, maro." he said the last part with more seriousness, looking toward the fortress.

"Well, I'm more prepared than I was before. It'll take more than that to beat me and Hippo-chan. I... I'm still not sure if I can do it, though." Bouquet, looked down, frowning.

"Don't worry, maro! This time I'm with you, maro!" Marumaro smiled up at her.

"Well, I'd like to hope that you don't mess that up like last time, either. Like you said, we can't afford any mistakes this time." she looked toward the Fortress.

"No mistakes, maro." he repeated.

"Everybody is counting on us. No... For Darling's sake, I won't fail!"

* * *

"Let... us... out!!!" Shu screamed as he banged the iron cell door with his fists, probably for the hundredth time.

"You do know that there's no point in doing that, right?"

"Shut up, Jiro! I can't just sit and do nothing!"

"Shu, Jiro's right. The last thing we need now is trouble from the guards."

"But, Zola..."

"Why don't you come sit over here, Shu?" Kluke patted the space next to her. "We can talk about home..."

"No thanks." Shu slumped to the ground near the door.

Kluke frowned. As time went on, Shu seemed to be drifting farther and farther away from her. They used to be so much closer, and now, this distance... honestly, it frightened her.

"Just ignore him. He's having one of his moods." Jiro leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Shu could be so annoying sometimes.

"I am not!"

"You are, kind of."

"Why are you siding with _him_?!"

"Everyone, quiet!" The three were silenced by the urgency in Zola's voice.

Quietly as she could, Zola made her way over to the door and peered through the small, barred window near the top.

Listening carefully, she could now hear the approaching storm of footsteps more clearly, slowly becoming louder, shouting becoming understandable.

"... must find the location of the intruders! Anyone not in uniform is to be taken captive for questioning! But it is essential that you don't fatally wound anyone! Lord Nene needs the prisoners alive!" They shouted the last part as they passed the door, now officially identified as Grand Kingdom soldiers.

"Zola, what's happening?" Kluke stood as she spoke, followed by Shu and Jiro.

"It sounds like the fortress has been breached. I think we might be getting out of here."

* * *

Bouquet cringed as her bare foot touched the cold floor again. She wished that she could turn invisible with her shoes on.

She and Marumaro had split up before entering the fortress. Their plan was relatively easy; the two would sneak around the fortress until they found the others, Bouquet with the advantage of her invisibility, and Marumaro with his short height and agility. Then, they'd simply make a run for it.

They knew that something would probably go wrong, but as long as they could avoid getting captured before reuniting with the others, they would be fine... hopefully.

Suddenly, she heard talking. Barely stifling a gasp, she peered around the corner.

"... and if that brat makes anymore racket, I swear I'll kill him myself."

"Keep your voice down! If someone else hears you, its both of our heads!"

"Look, I'm not that stupid. I want to get paid, you know."

The two soldiers continued down the hall in the same direction. When she finally couldn't hear their voices, Bouquet let out a breath that she'd been unaware she was holding.

"If the soldiers came from that direction, then maybe the others are somewhere over there..." With a quick nod to herself, she went down the hall that the soldiers had come from.

"This is either going to be really good or really bad..."

* * *

"This is awful, maro..."

Because of his small stature, Marumaro had ended up with the unfortunate task of being the one to go through the air duct.

Don't get him wrong, it wasn't like he didn't want to rescue the others. Not at all! As mischievous as he was, he was still part of the Devee tribe, and a friend of a Devee is a friend for life! But...

Why did _he_ have to crawl in the air duct?!!

Half a minute later, he came across a vent, dim light shining out of it.

"Finally, maro. I hope this is the right one, maro..." he peered down into it.

The dim room was filled with boxes pilled high. A few of them were open, one revealing weapons, another showing armor.

"A storeroom, maro? But, that means... I went the wrong way, maro!"

Another unfortunate thing, Marumaro had ended up going about two floors down from where he was supposed to be. And he'd thought he should've been suspicious when he saw a vent above him.

"I'm pretty sure there's a way up if I keep going this way, maro." He'd started moving forward, but as soon as he had both of his hands on the vent, it gave in.

"Maro!!!" Both he and the grate fell into the storeroom, hitting the ground with a loud crash.

He groaned as he sat up. "That hurt, maro..." Suddenly, the door opened.

"That's as far as you'll go!" The voice that yelled at him was very young sounding. And female.

"Maro?" Marumaro looked over towards the voice.

Standing in the doorway was a small, cloaked person.

"On your feet!" she yelled at him.

"But you're just a little girl, maro!" He stood.

"Don't underestimate me! I could finish you off in seconds if I wanted." She walked closer to him. "But... you're just a child. A Devee child, but still."

"You are too, maro." Marumaro peeked at her from underneath her hood.

"W-what... what are you doing?" she stuttered, a forming blush visible on her mostly concealed face.

"What's your name, maro?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your name, maro?"

"I'm not going to tell my name to an enemy!"

"I'm Marumaro... But what's a cute girl like you doing in an awful place like this, maro?"

"I..." she stopped when she heard someone approaching from down the hall. "Quick, hide behind a crate!" She shoved him over to it, barely concealing him as the door opened. A Grand Kingdom soldier stepped into the room.

"What's going...!?" He stopped when he saw the girl. "Oh... Lady Kaede... Forgive me, I didn't realize it was you... Have you found anyone?"

"No. There's nothing here. I thought I heard something, but it was a rat." she faked a shudder, and Marumaro had to keep from bursting out in laughter.

"I see. Well, if you should find anything, please report it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I'll continue in my search." He saluted her, which she returned, and then left the room.

The girl sighed as Marumaro came out from behind the crate. "That was kind of close..."

"So... Your name is Kaede, right, maro?"

"... Yes." she answered reluctantly.

"You still haven't told me why you're here, maro."

"I live here."

"You _live_ here, maro?!"

"That's right. Nene-sama offers me shelter, so in return, I do what I can to help him."

"But why would you want to stay here, maro?"

"Like I said, Nene-sama has given me a place to stay. He rescued me, when the Warriors of Light took everything away."

Marumaro was starting to think this girl was horribly confused. "But, the Warriors of Light are good, maro."

"That's a lie!!"

"Maro!" he cringed at her sharp tone.

"The Warriors of Light took everything from me! They destroyed everything I knew and loved! They killed my friends and my family... My mother, my father... even my big brother!... But... but Nene-sama has been kind to me. The Warriors of Light have hurt him too, and he says that we'll fight them someday and get our revenge. I look forward to it. It's the only thing I have left to live for."

After her little outburst, even though she'd obviously been misled, he thought that it would be wise not to mention that he was one of the Warriors of Light.

She noticed his discomfort. "Sorry. I suppose I said too much," she stood before he could respond. "Come on, let's get you out of here. This floor will be swarming with soldiers soon."

"You mean... You're going to help me out of here, maro?"

"Don't think too much of it. I don't usually do things like this. I don't even know why I'm helping you..." she shook her head.

"It's because you have a good heart, maro!" Marumaro jumped up so suddenly that the girl nearly screamed.

"R-right... Let's go." she quickly walked to the door, her newfound Devee friend tagging along behind her.

* * *

Zola pinched her forehead between her eyebrows, the unbearable pressure forecasting a migraine. Despite however she may have acted, she liked Shu and Jiro. She really did. But she really wished they wouldn't fight quite so much.

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Jerk!"

"Imbecile!"

And it went on like that. Over, and over, and over... And over.

"We have to get out of here." Kluke held her head, her hands muffling her voice. "I can't take this anymore..."

"You're a..." Shu was suddenly at a lost for words; he'd run out of insults.

Jiro smirked. "I'm a what?"

"You're a..." he looked desperately at the floor, as if it would give him an answer. But the only thing there were rocks... Wait. "You're a rock head!"

"I'm a _what_?"

"You know... You're head's full of rocks." Shu knew it was a ridiculous argument, but he decided to go with it anyway. What did he have to lose?

"... That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Even I didn't think your IQ was _that_ low."

"Sh-shut up! It's... it's your fault we're in here!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"How do you figure that it's _my_ fault? If it's anyone's fault, it's probably yours!"

"That's enough!" Kluke stood, trembling slightly. "Can we please just drop it? Fighting won't solve anything. It hasn't done anything for us so far."

The two boys looked down at their feet, both of them a little ashamed. Their fighting was a usual thing, but this wasn't a usual situation.

"If you can't stop fighting, then you should just stay away from each other." Kluke nodded, mostly to herself.

Everyone quieted when a guard outside cursed loudly. "No one's found _anything_ yet?"

Zola peered out the barred window to watch again. Two soldiers stood outside the door.

"No, not that we know of, sir."

He cursed again. "I can't believe this! Nene's going to punish us severely if we can't find them!"

"Captain!" a new voice yelled, and another soldier came into view. He held out his hands to the captain. He was holding something blue and white. "These were found in Hallway C of Section 47-A."

The other soldier, not the captain, peered down at the find. "It looks like a maid's outfit..."

"Bouquet!" Shu rushed to the door, standing next to Zola and trying to get a look.

Kluke felt her heart twist. Since when did he care so much about _her_?

"Alright, take those clothes to General Szabo so he can inspect them. He's fought the intruders before, so he might know if one of them was wearing that."

With a quick salute, the soldier ran off down the hall. The captain and the other soldier concluded that checking out Section 47 was probably a good idea, so they left as well.

Shu leaned against the door, looking down. He never saw Kluke look away from him, nor the pained look in her eyes. After a moment, he turned to Zola. "Do you think Bouquet's okay?"

"Probably. They only found her clothes, so it's likely she's invisible. Only people with a high amount of magic can detect an invisible member of the Ra Clan."

"Kluke, are you okay?" Jiro asked a little awkwardly. He could tell she wanted to say something.

"Of course I am," Kluke turned her gaze toward Shu. "There's nothing wrong with being worried about your _fiancé_." More venom leaked into her voice than she had intended.

"Look, I am _not_ worried about her..." She turned away from him again. "Come on, Kluke, don't get mad. Besides, I only said that back then by accident, yet she's blown it up into this whole big thing. What, you think I'm _enjoying_ this? She's driving me crazy!"

"Oh, I'm sure she is."

"Kluke..."

"Can you just leave me alone now?"

Shu tried to hide how much it had hurt when she said that. "...Sure."

Zola sighed. She wished they wouldn't fight quite so much.

* * *

Kaede let out a sigh of relief. They had narrowly missed one of the captains and a soldier with him. Apparently, someone else had been found. But she didn't want to get involved with anyone else at the moment.

"Close call, maro!"

"Would you keep _quiet_?" she hissed at him. How was she supposed to hide someone so noisy?

"Sorry, maro..."

"Just come on." she pulled his hand eagerly, turning left at the fork. Her mind busied itself with trying to find an excuse if one of the guards saw him.

Meanwhile, Marumaro was oblivious to her inner turmoil; he was ecstatic to be holding a girl's hand. He'd even forgotten why he was here.

Kaede recognized this place now; they were in Section 47. That meant that they were about to pass the cell where the Warriors of Light were being held.

She glared at the door as she passed with Marumaro. Soon, very soon, she would carry out her revenge.

* * *

Jiro gasped sharply, using the wall to support himself. It felt like something had snapped inside of his head.

"Jiro, what is it?" Zola was at his side in a moment, her hand on his shoulder.

"I feel weird..." He recognized the feeling, though - the same one he had discovered during the battle with Nene. "I'm sensing a shadow user that I've never sensed before, but the aura is familiar. I can't place it."

"Try to relax. You're probably sensing a magic signature like before."

"_Magic signature... I feel like a radio..._" he thought irritably. Still, he did as Zola said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

His mind being more open allowed him to sense more things. He could make out emotions for one thing. This person... They were filled with rage. A strong desire for revenge. He tried to find out more, but it felt like it was getting weaker.

"I'm... I'm losing it."

"The person might be moving away."

"No one ever thought to look outside!" Kluke realized belatedly.

"Shoot!" Shu rushed to the barred window, but he couldn't see anything when he looked out. "I don't see anything..."

"It's my fault," Zola said. "I was supposed to be watching the window."

"No one ever said you _had_ to watch the window," Kluke said, trying to make her feel better. "You were just the first one who did it."

"And the only one tall enough to do it." Jiro added.

Shu wanted to say something really badly. He should have; his height had always been a touchy subject. But he didn't. Instead, he went to go sulk in a corner. He wasn't going to let Jiro get the best of him!

Jiro just sighed. He never minded getting into a fight with Shu, but he was grateful that they hadn't this time; his head was still killing him. He glanced at the door. Who could that person have been?

* * *

"_Stay calm... stay calm..._" Bouquet repeated it over and over in her head, like a mantra. She'd had several almost-encounters with guards, and in her panic had almost lost her invisibility.

She hadn't found much. All of the doors were basically dead ends, each one holding a certain kind of supplies. She _had_ found a cafeteria. She had helped herself to some stew, but found that it tasted awful and left the rest.

She was just about to give up hope, when she came across a door that looked different than the others. It was a purplish red, boarded by what looked to be gold, but could've just been a similarly colored metal.

After taking a quick look to make sure no one was around, she edged the door open. Not finding a trace of a person inside, she opened the door with more confidence.

She closed it behind her, looking at the room with awe. It was a very pretty room, one that held certain things that would make a girl love to live in it. Everything from the walls to the furniture was purple velvet. Little bottles of what seemed like makeup and perfume lined a lavender-colored dresser with a dainty mirror. There were some stuffed animals at the foot of the bed, so the person who lived in this room was probably young. Also, the person likely enjoyed reading, as there were several piles of books strewn about the floor.

Bouquet looked around the room for any clues of who might live here, but found none; the room spoke of this individual's personality, but not who they were. She had thought the person might be Delphinium, but unless she had a secret hobby of collecting stuffed animals, it probably wasn't her.

After a while, she left the room when she still couldn't find anything of interest. She could worry about who the room belonged to later; for now, she still had to find Shu.

**Whew! You have **_**no**_** idea how long it took me to write this... If you don't like long chapters, sorry about that. I hadn't originally planned for it to be that long, but it read better like this. Also, I don't really know how this chapter went; I wrote this before my writing really developed, so it probably wasn't that good... I don't know I'll let you guys decide... So, what will happen next? Will the daring rescue be a success? Will the group every find out the mystery behind this strange girl? Will Shu and Jiro ever stop fighting? Will Kluke continue to be jealous? Will Zola ever get rid of her headache? Will Marumaro do... well, what he does, to the mystery girl Kaede? Will Bouquet's feet ever be warm? Will I ever stop asking these questions? Hopefully, once I update after 10 hits, we'll get some answers! If you get the chance, please review. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two is **_**up**_**! Man, this took me so long... Sorry, guys. I'd been a little stumped. This chapter is kind of long, though, (not as long as last chapter) so I think it'll make up for it. A tiny bit, anyway. With that, I'll do the review replies now.**

**ultimashadow:** Well, thanks. :) I know; their fight was kind of lame, huh? *scratches head sheepishly* Like I mentioned before, I wrote that before my writing really developed; if you think I need to, I can bump it up to my current style. ;) Oh, her? Her name is Matilda; she Rogi's aide. You probably already know this, but I'll tell you just in case you don't - she has a Shadow named Zephyrus.

**Prince of Tennis' Shaman:** Aw, thank you. *blushes* Oh, really? Did it go okay? Thanks; things should start to get even more interesting as time goes on. ;) Here's the next chapter; sorry it took so long. Ah, I think you'll like Panda. :) I'll throw out another spoiler of sorts: Panda is a girl. That isn't to say whether or not the final Warrior of Light is a girl; Rogi has Valkyrie, who is a girl. But Kluke has Phoenix, who is also a girl. I know the final Warrior's gender, but I won't spoil it for you. Really? YAY!! :D I can't wait to see it. Oh, and I also found out something; I was watching Episode 4 of Season 2 again, and I discovered that Tsuji-san did some of the scenes towards the end! She just wasn't credited. Oh, and which episode are you planning to translate next? Anyway, have a nice rest. :)

**Okay, there are the replies. Oh, in other news... I GOT BLUE DRAGON PLUS!!! :D Yes, I finally got it... I'm so happy! Only problem is that I can't play it yet, because I haven't finished the first one. :( I should see the end soon, though. :) With that, here's chapter two of **_**The Final Warrior of Light**_**!**

**Note: I'd like to remind everyone that if you see italics in double quotation marks, it usually means that those are thoughts. Usually.**

_Chapter 2: Shinrai (Trust)_

"_...I don't think there's a better doctor in all of Mafe."_

"_You're just saying that."_

"_No, I mean it." "...going to be an excellent doctor someday..."_

"_...last night I had this really weird dream..." "...and you waved back at her..."_

"_...only a dream that you would have."_

"_Hey, Jiro... I want to to go to the strawberry fields tomorrow. Just you and me."_

* * *

He woke up with a start, shouting slightly. He still had those nightmares, but he usually didn't have that one.

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes; once they'd cleared, he saw Kluke. He barely caught the end of what she was saying.

"...get up. They're here."

"Who's here?" he asked groggily.

"I am, boy."

Jiro nearly blanched at the voice, looking past Kluke, past Shu and Zola, who were standing defensively in front of the doorway.

In that very same doorway was Nene.

"Boy!"

* * *

Bouquet had to hold in another gasp at the scene unfolding before her eyes. She'd found the others, but she hadn't been fast enough.

The Grand Kingdom soldiers led out Shu, Zola, Kluke and Jiro in single file. Nene smirked at the scene, that annoying pet floating next to his head. Zola glared at him sharply as she passed him, but it only made him and Deathroy laugh.

Bouquet was shaking slightly. She hadn't actually thought that she would have to fight Nene again, and that seemed to be what all of this was boiling down to. Any confidence boosting that Marumaro had given her was quickly vanishing, and she was starting doubt that she would be able to rescue the others.

But then she saw Shu. He was angry, but his face held little to no fear. And then she knew - he was either confident that he, Kluke, Jiro and Zola would be able find a way to free themselves, or he knew that she and Marumaro would come to save them. And Bouquet realized that Shu believing in her was all the confidence she needed.

As they started heading down the hallway, Bouquet followed after them; she wouldn't let down Shu.

* * *

"How long have you been living here, maro?"

"A few months." Kaede answered him very shortly, and he knew he'd made a mistake by asking.

Quickly, he tried to cover up his blunder by asking, "Are you going to take that hood off, maro? I bet your even cuter when your whole face is visible, maro."

"No, I am not going to take it off." she sounded a little embarrassed.

Marumaro knew he was losing ground fast. "Well, if you won't take it off, maro... Let's talk about something, maro!"

She sighed. "There's nothing to talk about."

" 'Course there is, maro!" he grinned broadly. "There's always something to talk about, maro."

"Do you _want_ to get caught?"

"No, maro. But I'm bored, maro!"

Kaede stopped walking and started counting to ten in her head.

"Kaede, what's wrong, maro?" he stood next to her. "Why did we stop going, maro?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Okay, maro. So, if you won't take it off, will you tell me what your hair color is, maro? Or your eye color, maro?"

"One: why are you asking me all of these questions? And two: why do you keep saying I'm cute if you haven't even seen my whole face?"

"To the first question, I want to have a better idea of what you look like, maro. And to the second question, I don't need to see a girl's whole face to tell if she's cute. Besides, your voice is cute, maro!"

Kaede groaned. "Can we please get out of here? I need to get away from you as soon as possible..."

He bumped against her arm good-naturedly. "Come on, you know you like me, maro! I'm your friend, maro!"

"_I guess you are..._" she smiled to herself at the thought.

"See, maro?! You do like me, maro! And I knew you could smile, maro!"

She chuckled. "Come on, we should-"

"Ah, good work, Kaede-chan," a voice interrupted her. "I see that you've found one of the intruders."

"Intruders!"

"N-Nene-sama..."

"Maro!!"

* * *

"_Marumaro, you idiot._" Bouquet thought harshly to herself. "_I came all this way, and he goes and gets himself caught._"

Two rows of soldiers stood between the two groups. The first group consisted of Marumaro, the small person with him, Nene and Deathroy. The second group consisted of Shu, Zola, Jiro and Kluke. The soldiers had made a tight-knit wall - there was no way that the others would know Marumaro was caught, or even there, until the guards brought him to the other side.

She didn't know what to do. If she became visible, with only Hippo-chan's transformation to protect her, she would most surely be caught. But she didn't want to do nothing, either. What could she do?

* * *

"Nene-sama," Kaede swallowed hard. "There's no reason to take him. He isn't one of the Warriors of Light; he's just a Devee."

"What is it with the 'just a Devee' stuff, maro?!" Marumaro snapped, ignoring Kaede's hand movements for him to calm down. "My people are a proud and mighty race, powerful magic users that have been alive for centuries, maro! 'Just a Devee' my foot, maro!"

Nene chuckled, though. "Is that what you thought, Kaede-chan?"

"What you thought?!"

"Wh-what do you mean?" she stuttered.

"You must know that you don't have to be a human to be a Warrior of Light, or a Shadow User for that matter. Though you must be a descendant of a Warrior of Light in order to be one, anyone can be a Shadow User."

"Anyone!"

"B-but... That means..." she turned her head towards Marumaro, and if the hood wasn't there, he knew her expression would be one of pure horror. "After everything I told you... and you never said anything..."

"Kaede-"

"You're just like the rest of them," she spat out. "Those despicable Hikari no Senshi. You're no better than any of them."

"For goodness' sakes, Kaede, you're going by Nene's word, maro!" he placed a hand over his chest. "Don't you trust your friend more than him, maro?"

Kaede turned away from him. "You're no friend of mine."

"You don't mean that, maro!"

"Enough!" she yelled at him. She looked towards Nene, saying, "He's all yours, Nene-sama."

"Hey, wait a minute, maro!" Marumaro started backing away as the soldiers started approaching him. "Kaede, do something, maro!"

* * *

"What's going on over there?" Kluke tried to see past the guards blocking her view, tried to hear who those voices belonged to. Why was it so hard to hear? "I thought I heard Marumaro."

"Stay back and don't cause trouble!" one of the guards nudged her hard in the arm with his gun.

"Don't hit her!" Shu yelled at him.

"That hurt..." she rubbed her arm where it had been bumped. She froze when she heard hard breathing, turning around. "Jiro!"

"K-Kluke..." his eyes were closed, and sweat was beading on his forehead. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Something's wrong..."

"What is it?" she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That aura is back..." he swayed a little.

"Stand up straight!" the guard from before shouted at him. "You better not be trying anything funny!"

Kluke stood in front of him. "Jiro, lean on me."

"But-"

"Hurry."

He opened his eyes for a second, taking in her expression, then closed them again and nodded. "Alright." he placed his hands on her shoulders, resting his head.

Shu huffed and grumbled something under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Zola asked him, but all he did was shake his head.

Just at that moment, the guards kicked another person towards them. "Maro!"

"Marumaro!" They all yelled, save for Jiro, who was slipping in and out of consciousness. Shu and Zola barely caught him as he fell.

"What happened, Marumaro?" Zola asked him as they helped him sit up.

"Maro..." He didn't seem injured... Upset, rather.

"Move it, you brats!" Another soldier, different from the one before. "It's time for you to go."

"Go where?" Shu narrowed his eyes.

"Don't ask stupid questions!" the guard hauled him onto his feet, ignoring his cry of protest. "Nene-sama wants you to go somewhere, and that's all you need to know!"

* * *

Bouquet gripped the stones so hard that she wasn't sure what would break first - her nails or the wall.

How _dare_ he treat her Darling like that?!

He needed to be taught a lesson.

Very quietly, she walked up to the guard. When she was sure she was in range, she gave him a swift and hard punch in the stomach, backing away a bit once the hit was landed.

The soldier released Shu, crumpling to his knees and holding his mid-section. "You..." he looked up, snarling, "Which one of you brats did that?!"

By the time Bouquet had realized she had made a mistake, it was too late - the guard hit Shu in the head, hard enough to knock him to the floor.

Bouquet wanted to hold him, make sure he was okay - but she was invisible. There was nothing she could do, and now she'd made things worse.

* * *

"Shu!" Kluke desperately wanted to go to him, but if she left Jiro, he'd have no one to help him stand.

Zola helped him instead. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Shu glared up at the guard. "But if he keeps that up, _he_ won't be."

The soldier stepped forward. "Listen, you-"

Another one stopped him. "Hold it. Nene-sama says it's time for us to leave. Everyone," he spoke to all of the soldiers now. "Collect the intruders."

* * *

Bouquet had been so down about getting Shu hurt that she nearly got left behind. As it was, they were a good distance away from her, so she had to try and run silently (which was task all on its own).

They walked for a while - too long in Bouquet's opinion, since it gave her the painful reminder of how cold the floor was - until they finally came to large doors that she recognized; they lead to Nene's throne room.

As they went inside, she barely made it when they closed the doors, and ended up stumbling to the ground. She rubbed her knees where she'd hit the ground, and looked up in time to see the soldiers move out of the way so the others could see.

Nene stood, his arms spread wide. "Welcome. I'm glad all of you could make it."

"Could make it!"

Jiro, despite his dizziness, lifted his head. "What do you want now, Nene?"

"No... It can't be..."

"Hm?" Nene looked down at the girl next to him, seemingly amused. "Is something wrong?"

"Something wrong?!"

Kaede's voice was a hoarse whisper. "J-Jiro..."

**Chapter 2 done! Again, sorry it took so long. I really need to speed up so I don't have to apologize every chapter of my stories... Anyway, I think this chapter turned out okay. I'll leave that to you guys. :) So... Next chapter we'll find out what Nene is plotting. Hopefully. And why did Kaede act like that at the end? Does she know Jiro? And if she does, how? We'll see soon enough. ;) Review if you can, and I'll try to update after 10 hits. See you guys! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is finally up! Sorry for the delay. Writer's block, not feeling well, people coming over to my home but not actually coming... The usual. :P Anyway, I'll go ahead and reply to last chapter's reviews now:**

**ultimashadow:** Yes; very, very complicated. ;) While some of the complications will occur this chapter, many of them won't happen until _Maple Leaf_. Thanks. *blushes* Ah... I kind of messed up the suspense factor in this chapter, so I don't know how good this is going to go compared to my other stories. But I still hope you like it. :)

**ultimashadow:** ... True identity? What true identity?! Oh, man, I knew there was something up with that toad...

**Edward-Elric-in-red:** Thank you. :) Sorry it took me so long; this chapter had me utterly and truly stuck. I think I'm over it now. For a little while, anyway. Well, the romance in _The Final Warrior of Light_ is a bit minor. But in the follow-up story, _Maple Leaf_, there should be quite a bit. ;) I think you'll like it. Again, sorry for this not being up sooner - read and enjoy.

**Prince of Tennis' Shaman: **Yep - I'm finding that suspense is becoming one of my favorite things (at least, when it comes to writing). ;) Don't worry about it; I'm just happy to hear from you. :D Yeah - that's been an idea I've wanted to work into my stories for quite a while. :) *sigh* I have to go back and write out the scene with Nene sometime... Although... Maybe I can use it as a flashback instead. Hmm... I think I like that idea. ;) _Well_... She might be. Oh yes, she might be... ;) Ah, I don't mind. Your reviews always help me write, anyway. :) I like the idea, though. XD I'm looking forward to replying to your next review once chapter four is done. :D

**Review replies done... Well, like I was mentioning in my reply to ultimashadow, I seriously messed up the suspense in this chapter. The beginning of this chapter really should have been at the end of last chapter. I'm not feeling so good, so that's kind of why it got messed up. Really sorry! :( It got kind of long, too... Okay, _really_ long (for me, anyway). I couldn't find a good place to end it. But I think it ends pretty well. ;) After the chapter title, read to your heart's content.**

_Chapter 3: Himitsu (Secret)_

Jiro was still breathing hard, but he managed to look up at the girl who had said his name. Who would still know him? Was it a previous opponent? She was too short to be Cynthia, and she didn't sound like her anyway. She almost sounded like... No. That would be impossible.

"You know my friend?" Zola spoke for him. In a little corner of his mind, he felt glad that she thought that highly of him.

The girl didn't respond. Nene placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Make sure you know who your friends and your allies are. Remember that they are the Warriors of Light. They must be destroyed."

"No!" she shook off his hand, running towards the group.

He cursed under his breath. This was becoming more trouble than it was worth. "Kaede-chan!"

Deathroy waved his tiny arms. "Kaede! Kaede!"

The girl grabbed his arms. "Jiro! I can't believe you're okay..." she shook with unshed tears.

Jiro moved away from her, letting go of Kluke. "You're an ally of Nene. And an ally of Nene is no friend of mine."

"We used to think of each other as friends. But if not a friend..." She took off her hood. "What about family?"

Jiro gasped, falling to his knees. "Jina..."

* * *

Bouquet was a bit shocked from what was going on, considering that Jiro's family was dead. Or supposed to be. But she knew that she needed to take advantage of the diverted attention, so she moved towards the group. She needed to figure out how to get the collars off, and she knew just who to ask.

When she was behind her, Bouquet whispered in her ear, "Kluke, it's Bouquet. How do I get off the collars?"

Kluke was startled to say the least, but she hid it so that Nene wouldn't know what was going on. She whispered to the side, saying, "I'm not entirely sure about this technology, but I know of something similar. Nene should have a button with him. Get it away from him and bring it to me."

Bouquet nodded, forgetting she was invisible. "Okay. Keep Shu out of harm's way."

Kluke couldn't tell if she was already gone or not, but she answered anyway. "I will."

* * *

This wasn't real. Jina was dead. This wasn't real. He was still dreaming. He had to be.

The house... it had been on fire. It was falling apart. It had crushed her. Hadn't it?

He never looked. He was so worried about his father... He thought she had died when she went unconscious.

Even then... How did she survive the house crushing her? He'd been caught up in the moments following his escape from his home, but he had seen it cave in on itself. How did she survive?

Why hadn't he checked?

Jina was standing in front of him. This wasn't real.

* * *

She was so close... Bouquet could see the button there, the one that Kluke had mentioned. It was tucked to the side on Nene's belt.

Her heartbeat was so loud, she was almost sure that Nene could hear it. But she just needed to get a little further...

She reached for it...

* * *

"... I knew she was cute, mar- ow!." Marumaro grabbed his knee where Shu had kicked him.

"Not a good time." Shu said through gritted teeth. He and Jiro were rivals. They'd almost killed each other numerous times. But even Shu knew that bothering Jiro right now was below the belt.

"You don't have to break my leg in half, maro!"

"I do if you-" Shu cut off, something catching his eye. That little box on Nene's belt... Was it moving?

* * *

Bouquet almost grabbed it. She got close. But Nene realized she was there. And he kicked her.

She tumbled to the ground, getting a little cut and scraped from the stairs. As she sat up, she wished steadfastly that he wouldn't use a kick to get rid of her. He was just going to kill her anyway. Why did he have to kick her?

* * *

"Kaede-chan!" he tossed the button to her, which she caught with ease. "Don't let them get it! Use it!"

"Use it! Use it!"

"I can't!" she held it close, but she didn't press it. "Oniichan would be hurt if I did!"

"Forget about him!" Nene swept his arm in a gesturing arc. "He's one of the Warriors of Light now!"

"Warrior of Light! Warrior of Light!"

"No," she shook her head. "They've only brainwashed him! Please Nene-sama, let me try and convince him!"

"There's no time for that! The collar must be used!"

"Used! Used!"

"Jina," she turned around when he took her hand from behind. "He's the one that's lying to you. He killed our parents."

"No!" she shook her head hard. "Nene-sama is the one that rescued me! _They_ are the ones that killed our parents!" she pointed towards Shu and the others.

"Don't you understand, imouto?" Jiro's voice was choked with tears. "Nene misled you. Please - I don't know why he's kept you alive so long, but you have to get away from him."

"You're wrong. You can't- hey!" she cried out as Szabo snatched the button away from her. "Give that to me!"

He moved out of her range. "Nene-sama has waited long enough for you to carry out your order. If you won't finish it, I will." He pressed the button.

The collars set off shocks throughout the group. Almost everyone, except for Shu, was brought to their knees, and only Jiro managed to stay _on_ his knees - the others fell to the ground.

"What is this thing?!" Shu tried to pull it off, but had no luck; it was locked.

"Kaede-chan," Nene said her name sweetly, but it was easy to hear the venom underneath. "You shouldn't have done this. We were supposed to help each other, remember?"

"Remember?! Remember?!"

"If you call her that one more time, I'll smash your head in," Jiro struggled to his feet. "The only one left alive who has leave to call her that is me."

"Oniichan, don't!" She was so confused. She was barely able to deal with all of these things that were happening, and they were all happening so fast. She didn't know who to help and who to fight against.

"Nene..." Jiro's head was lowered, his hair covering his eyes. His voice and body shook with anger. "You murder people, hurt people... And then you turn their own family against them... You're despicable!" he raised his head, pointing at Nene. "I'm finishing this now!"

Szabo laughed. "I'd like to see you do that with that collar stopping you!" he continued laughing heartily, his eyes closed. So he didn't see Shu until he was on him.

"Someone grab that thing!" Shu hooked his feet around Szabo's frame, clenching his teeth when the robot swatted him in the back.

"Got it!" a voice said from nowhere. Both Shu and Szabo froze and stared as the button floated in midair, then floated away.

"Get off me!" Szabo shrugged off the boy after recovering.

* * *

"Kluke, I've got it!" Bouquet yelled once she was near.

"Bouquet, don't come over here!" Kluke managed to push herself up a little. "Throw it in front of me! You can't touch any of us while we're like this!"

"Okay." She did as Kluke asked; the button clattered on the ground.

Kluke looked it over, trying to figure out how the thing worked. She just needed a few minutes...

* * *

Jiro unsheathed his dagger, and without another word, he charged Nene. But because of the electricity from the collar, he staggered, and his strike was far off. Nene dodged it easily. Jiro stumbled, cursing under his breath, holding himself up with his hand. He had to get the collar off somehow...

"I think you've wasted enough of my time. Guards!" he held his fisted arms in front of him. "Place the special project on me, and then all of you are to leave the room, including Szabo. I'll finish these brats myself."

"Brats! Brats!"

The soldiers rushed to their king's side, carrying a bulky case with them. They set it on the ground and opened it, taking something out and placing it on Nene's wrists. When they moved away, it looked a bit like a mini collar, but on his hands instead of his neck.

After the soldiers had left, he talked to all of them, saying, "I would like to introduce all of you to a new project I've been working on. I like to call it the Shadow Snatcher."

"Snatcher! Snatcher!"

"I'll tell you what you can call it..." Shu grumbled under his breath.

"And now, a demonstration!" Nene knocked the bangles together, making the red circle glow, and placed his hands on the ground.

It took a minute, but it did work. The Shu-tachi thought it worked too well. It increased the voltage of the collars, and started drawing those charges to the bracelets like a current.

* * *

Kluke had dropped the button when the charge increased, and now was desperately attempting to reach it. "I... I have to turn it off..."

She saw someone press the button needed to turn it off. The electricity stopped, and the collars unlocked, clattering off of everyone and onto the ground. Kluke looked up to see who it was; she saw the conflicted face of Jiro's little sister.

"Kaede!" Nene's voice was filled with anger. "Am I to take this as a betrayal?!"

"Betrayal?! Betrayal?!"

"Thank you," Kluke said as she started sitting up. "You did the right thing."

The girl glared at her. "I did it for Oniichan. The Warriors of Light are no friends of mine."

Kluke got mad suddenly. "Don't you get it?! He _is_ a Warrior of Light!"

Stunned, she was about to deny it, but Nene interrupted. "You disappoint me, Kaede. I thought that you would have been smarter than this."

"Smarter!"

"Nene-sama, I-"

"Silence! If you aren't on my side, than you are on theirs. And it's far past time that I've dealt with all of you."

"All of you!"

Nene was about to summon Chimera, but he was delayed for a moment as Jiro brought out Minotauros and attacked. "Leave my sister out of this!"

Nene jumped off to the side, then brought out his Shadow. "She's already in this, more than either of you know!" Chimera used a Graviton Ball; Jiro fell to the ground.

Shu, Marumaro and Zola ran to help, summoning their Shadows. As they started to fight with Nene, Kluke ran to check on Jiro, the small girl following behind her. "Jiro, are you alright?!"

"I don't know anymore," Jiro said as he sat up. "I'm not badly injured, though."

His eyebrow twitched as his sister shoved Kluke out of the way. "Oniichan, forget about her and the rest of them! There's still time; we can still convince Nene-sama that we're on his side!"

"Don't call him that! The honorific of '-sama' is wasted on someone like that... that _demon_." Jiro ignored the way she blanched at the loathing in his voice. "And I'm not on his side. I never will be. Even though Shu is annoying sometimes, these are my friends, and I'm going to stand by them."

"Oniichan..."

* * *

"What is this thing?!" Shu pushed on the sudden barrier that had appeared.

"How did he put this up, maro?!" Marumaro knocked on it with his fist.

Saber Tiger narrowed his eyes as he tapped his claw on the surface. "The way that it appeared, it must be like a trapdoor."

"Who cares what it is?!" Blue Dragon threw all of his weight against it. "The only thing that's important is how we get rid of it!"

* * *

Bouquet, who was trapped behind the barrier with Zola and Nene, nearly screamed as Zola's sword nearly took off her head. "_I have to find a way out of here..._" she whimpered in her mind.

"You've gotten just a tiny bit stronger, Zola," Nene said as he landed after dodging one of her attacks. "But it's still not enough to defeat me."

"Not enough! Not enough!"

"I don't need to defeat you," she aimed the sword's tip at him. "As long as I can get these children away from here, that's the only thing that matters. Then we can return stronger, and then we will finish you, once and for all."

Nene chuckled. "You're getting in a little over your head, aren't you? I think that you've forgotten your purpose."

"Your purpose!"

"That's enough!" Zola's voice had strength in it, but it wavered ever so slightly.

"No, not exactly. Chimera!"

Zola tried to get away, but the Shadow was too fast. It didn't attack her - not physically, anyway. It lowered itself so they were eye to eye, and then those very eyes began to glow a strange dark purple.

"Zola!" Shu and Marumaro shouted simultaneously. Marumaro turned towards the others, shouting, "Guys, help, maro! That thing is doing something to Zola, maro!"

"Zola!" Shu yelled her name again, but she made no response. In fact, it was almost like... like she was in a trance...

* * *

Kluke stood. "Jiro, punch a hole in the wall over there!" she pointed to the spot.

He looked at her incredulously. "Are you _kidding_ me?"

"Don't ask me questions right now! Just do it!"

Jiro sighed. "Fine. Minotauros!" he brought out his Shadow again, using rapid punches on the spot that Kluke had indicated. The wall began to crumble away, and then a big chunk of it came off, revealing a hidden panel. Jiro's eyes widened. "How did you know-"

"It was there last time," Kluke said quickly, striding over to it. Without giving him time to respond, she added, "Go over to where Shu and Marumaro are. The barrier will be down in a few seconds, and they'll need any help you can give them. I don't know what Nene's doing, but we need to get Zola away from there."

"Agreed," he ran over to the others. As he went, he yelled over his shoulder, "Keep an eye on Jina for me!"

"Yeah, like she'll let me..." Kluke grumbled under her breath.

As if on cue, the girl yelled, "Oniichan, why are you leaving me with one of _them_?!"

Kluke spun around, arms akimbo. "Look, you need to stop with this 'them' stuff. We're not your enemies."

She rolled her eyes as the girl yelled, "Yes you are! You're trying to turn Oniichan against me!"

"I'm not trying to do anything like-" Kluke was cut off as there was a small explosion in the center of the room. Both girls began to cough as smoke wafted towards them from the center of the room. As it began to clear, Kluke saw that the boys had been knocked to the ground. In the center of the room was Zola; she had brought out Killer Bat, but... something didn't seem right.

Nene stood near Zola. "Now that you've been given a reminder, I would appreciate it if you were to help me deal with these pests."

"Pests! Pests!"

Zola said nothing. But she nodded.

"Zola, what are you doing?!" Jiro shouted as he got to his feet.

She didn't say anything again. Instead, she and Killer Bat began to attack Shu, Jiro and Marumaro.

"What the heck is going on?" Kluke spoke mostly to herself; unless Bouquet had come around, there was really no one who would listen to her right now anyway. She shook her head. "I can't worry about that now. Hey," she got the attention of Jiro's sister. "Stay here and don't get into trouble!" she started making her way towards the others.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Psst," the girl looked around in surprise at the voice; there was no one around. "Yeah, you. You're Jiro's sister, right?"

"And _you_ are one of the Warriors of Light, aren't you?" she looked around, desperately trying to find the source of the voice. "This is some kind of Warrior of Light trick."

"What are you talking about?" the voice sounded confused.

"The reason I can't see you, of course!"

"Oh, that!" The girl yelped as a pink cloud of smoke erupted a few feet away, leaving behind a girl. "Sorry. I forgot to make myself visible."

"How did you... Why aren't you wearing anything?"

"Huh?" Bouquet looked down at herself, and then screamed, turning invisible again. "I-I'll be back in a minute!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the fighting proceeded. Nene and Chimera had joined in at some point, making the battle more difficult than it already was.

"We have to figure out a way to get Zola to snap out of it." Kluke said as Shu landed next to her.

"Yeah, but how? We don't even know what he did to her in the first place."

"Well, it seems like- ah!" Kluke was pushed to the ground by Shu, as he dodged an attack for both of them. She blushed as she got up, saying, "Sorry. I should've been paying attention."

"Don't worry about it. For now-"

They weren't ready for it when they were hit with it. The attack was powerful - it combined Killer Bat's Hornet Assassin and Chimera's Graviton Ball, forming almost like this strange, miniature energy bomb. It floored all four of the kids; Kluke actually rolled away a little, a bit closer to Jina/Kaede (whatever her name was) and Bouquet.

Preparing to once again combine their powers, Killer Bat and Chimera began to charge their attacks. As they did, Nene spoke, "I've decided to treat this as a betrayal, Kaede-chan. And I don't take well to traitors."

"Traitors!"

"Jina!" Jiro started trying to push himself up, but he wasn't fast enough.

The explosive energy ball began to hurtle towards her. She couldn't believe it... She couldn't believe he'd actually attack her... They were supposed to be friends...

The attack was intercepted with a cry of "Protect Feather!" Kluke stood in front of her defensively, trying to keep up the barrier.

"Kluke, this is too powerful!" Phoenix said, her voice strained. "We'll never be able to hold it back!"

"We have to try!" Kluke replied.

And they did try. But it wasn't enough. The energy broke through the Protect Feather. Kluke fell to the ground, seeing the ball rocket past her head. She heard it crash behind her; she covered her eyes as more smoke drifted up.

"Jina..." Jiro was in shock. He'd gotten back his sister, only to lose her again... And he hadn't even convinced her that she had been lied to... Then the smoke cleared, and he realized what had happened.

She sat on the floor, unharmed, a large crater next to where she sat.

When her feet felt strange, she opened her eyes and looked down; a strange, grayish-white... thing was coming out of them. She looked up further, seeing how the thin line took shape into some kind of creature that had its arms wrapped around itself. It began to uncurl; as it moved, black-gray spots were visible, with tiny triangular ears of the same color. In the back of her mind, she thought it kind of looked like the ancient creature known as a panda.

It opened its eyes, blinking at her. Then leaning forward a bit, in a voice that was like a very young little girl, the Shadow let out an inquisitive, "Pyon?"

**Well... There's chapter three. I'm disappointed in it, really; these scenes weren't supposed to happen like this at all. I may have to edit all of this... I'm trying to keep in mind that I wasn't feeling well while I wrote most of this, but I'm still kind of worried about how this chapter went, so please let me know what you think in a review. I'd really appreciate it. Um... I'll try to update after 10 hits. See you soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow... I can't believe it; I actually finished it. :D So much has happened since the last time I wrote a chapter for this... I won't even get into it. :P So... First of all, I must give serious thanks to three people who have helped me a lot: Growlmon1, Prince of Tennis' Shaman and WindGoddess Rune (that was ordered alphabetically, not by how much each of those people helped). Even if you were just asking me how my stories were doing, you helped me out a lot. :) Thank you. On that note... I think it's time for the review replies, don't you? ;D**

**YuukixZero16-in-yellow:** *blushes* Thanks. I wasn't really sure how good last chapter was, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) For now, she seems to be. As for her reaction... Read on. ;)

**ultimashadow:** I hope it's going to be interesting. :) Ah... It's likely. ;) Thanks. :D Well, I found out about his true identity, but I'm still unable to figure out what Pachess Town has to do with it... I guess I missed something.

**WindGoddess Rune:** Thank you; I was worried that it wasn't that good. Ah... It's been a while since you sent me that, but I did get it. :) Really? Cool. :D Even though Tenkai no Shichi Ryuu is over now, I'm still thinking of joining... I'm not sure yet. How is it going over there? It's been a while since I've visited.

**Nightraze:** Thank you. :) I'm sorry it took so long, but here's the update.

**ultimashadow:** Randel and Ran are the prototype names of the male/female character that players will be able to create in Ikai no Kyojuu. Also, in case you're interested, you can see what they look like on the official trailer - it should be on YouTube, but is also on the official website for Ikai no Kyojuu.

**Prince of Tennis' Shaman:** Ah... I had felt that it was necessary, so that's why I did it. I don't like editing that much anyway - I try not to do it unless I have to. :P I wish it had only been a week since I last updated it (it was during your review, but obviously not now); it's been exactly a month and a week... Which, I think, is _awful_... That aside... My idea to bring her back actually stemmed from that, too. :) Though this is a good few episodes before 39... Ah... We've been doing that a lot - especially lately - so I guess that's why. XD Those are some of my favorite friendships, too (_especially_ between Jiro and Shu). Alright. :) Ah, don't cry, An! It's fine! I'm just glad you like it so much. :D I'm glad that the characterization and plot are still strong. The first chapter of _Maple Leaf_ should be pretty easy to write, so it shouldn't take too long. Ah... That was pretty much my reaction when I saw your upcoming stories, too. XD I have seen those said updates... And nearly passed out from joy. XD

**Okay, review replies done! :D Now, I have a few things I need to mention, so I'm breaking them into two separate announcements:**

**Announcement 1: Today - April 16, 2009 for those who are reading this later - I have exceeded my PM limit. You can still send me messages, but I won't be able to reply to them until midnight. I just wanted everyone to know that I wasn't ignoring them or something...**

**Announcement 2: "Jina" has been added to the character lists. I can't believe they listened to me a second time! :D**

**Okay... Now, there is one more important thing I need to mention. This is the longest chapter I've written. Ever. Once **_**Maple Leaf**_** starts, there will be some long chapters, which will probably be longer than this. Still... Hang on for the ride. ;) So, without further ado, here is the final chapter of **_**The Final Warrior of Light**_**!**

_Chapter 4: Tsurai Tatakai (Painful Battle)_

Kaede gazed up at Panda. From the corner of her eye, she could see the Warrior of Light girl looking up in wonderment of her own. The Warrior of Light that had saved her life.

And, suddenly, it all made sense.

The dream. The cow. The bird. The panda. It all made sense.

She wasn't entirely sure of what she was supposed to do. But now she knew where to start.

Kaede's train of thought was snapped when the strange Panda-Shadow-thing coming out of her feet "pyon-ed" again. She followed this up by saying, "I'm so happy that I finally get to meet you, Kaede-chan! Pyon!"

Her eyebrows arched. "How do you know my name?"

"All Shadows know their Users." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I've seen everything that you have - I have every memory-pyon that you do. And I've been trying to come out for a long time, so I could tell you that he's a bad, bad man!" she pointed where Nene was watching the scene with quiet anger, the controlled Zola at his side.

* * *

Jiro was flooded with many emotions right then, but there were two at the forefront.

The first was relief. Relief that his sister was okay, and that she was alive in the first place.

The second was gratefulness. He was grateful for Kluke, more than words could describe. She was the one that had saved his sister's life.

"Oniichan!!" But he heard Kaede's yell a little too late.

* * *

Kluke and Kaede covered their eyes as another one of the energy balls smashed into the ground near where Jiro was. When the brightness from the impact had finally faded, both girls took their arms away so they could see.

Jiro was... possibly okay. Shu and Marumaro had pushed him out of the way of the main impact spot, but that didn't mean they had gotten away unscathed from it. The girls were too far away to tell.

Kaede, however, unwittingly began to remedy this problem as she started running towards them. "Oniichan!"

"Don't!" Kluke grabbed her arm before she could get too far. She didn't expect Jiro's sister to listen, but she thought she might as well try. "It's too dangerous!"

Kaede surprised her by saying, "Alright. But if you're with me, can I go then?"

"Um..." Kluke glanced up at Panda, who pyon-ed cheerfully, then looked back at Kaede and reluctantly nodded; she would be in just as much danger if Kluke left her alone. "Okay. But _stay with me_." She put very strong emphasis on the last three words. Just because the Protect Feather had broken didn't mean that it hadn't saved her, and that meant that Kluke wanted Jina as close as possible. Or Kaede - Kluke didn't really know what to call her anymore. Maybe she would start alternating, at least in her mind.

Besides, they didn't even know what Panda could do.

* * *

Bouquet, visible and fully dressed, closed the throne room doors behind her as quickly as possible. She heard soldiers crash into it on the other side.

She had just narrowly escaped them - they saw her clothes "floating in mid-air" at just the wrong time, and instead of discreetly taking them away, she'd had to make a break for it, hoping that they didn't catch her.

Still, this might not have been the best time to run back into the throne room.

* * *

"Fire Crisis!" Shu had been pretty confident in this attack - he'd charged it more than any other attack he'd ever let loose. So he felt like his jaw was going to drop off when the smoke from the attack cleared, showing Nene looking like the Fire Crisis had never happened.

"I'm getting bored with these little games," Nene sneered. "Blue Dragon is supposed to be the most powerful Shadow of all - I thought that you'd at least be able to put a scratch on me."

"Scratch! Scratch!"

"I'm just getting started!" Shu wished he felt as confident as Blue Dragon had sounded just then.

He didn't have long to think about it, though. Shu barely dodged as Zola thrust her sword at him.

Landing a few feet away, he looked into her eyes, unable to believe that this was happening. Zola looked at him as if she'd never seen him before. But it was more than that...

Very suddenly, he realized what it was that he'd been unable to identify in her eyes - lifelessness.

Just what had Nene done to her?

* * *

Meanwhile, Marumaro and Saber Tiger had just ducked from an attack by Nene and Chimera.

Taking on Nene alone while Shu fended off Zola was probably not Marumaro's best idea. But... It would help buy them time. Besides, Marumaro was eager to at least _try_ to beat up Nene after what he had done to Kaede.

The Ancient snorted. "What an annoying pest. You're possibly the worst of them, simply because you are so annoying. I'll enjoy being rid of you once and for all."

"Rid of you! Rid of you!"

"Don't underestimate our speed, maro! Blitz Claw!!"

Nene barely, just barely, missed the swift attack that Saber Tiger dealt. As it was, the tip of Chimera's left wing had been clipped.

"Maybe all of you _are_ stronger than I thought," Nene sneered. "If the one that harms me is a Devee."

"Devee! Devee!"

"That does it, maro!" Marumaro was fuming. How dare this jerk insult his people for a second time?! "Nene, you're mine, maro!" He charged at him, Saber Tiger's claws swinging.

* * *

"Oniichan! Please, wake up!"

Kluke was trying her best to check on Jiro's condition, but her medical knowledge was little to none - she could tell he was alive and breathing, but she didn't really know how bad it was. It was at that moment that she made a promise to herself: as soon as Nene was defeated and everything was at peace, she was going to start studying medicine.

"Please, Oniichan... I can't lose you again..."

"Pyon..." Panda looked on sadly, unsure of what to do.

"He's not going to die, if that's what you're worried about," Kaede looked up when Kluke spoke. "Jiro's strong - he might be hurt bad, but something like that won't kill him."

Kaede tried very hard not to spill the unshed tears she'd been holding back. "Are... Are you sure?"

Kluke nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. He's going to be-"

Just at that moment, Chimera landed a particularly strong attack on Saber Tiger, which sent both him and Marumaro flying.

"Stay with Jiro!" Kluke yelled to Jina as she got up, running towards them.

An odd thing happened to Kaede in that moment. She felt extreme concern for her big brother. But... She felt another concern pricking at her heart, a concern that reminded her incredibly of the one that was brought on by the love of her sibling. It was for that girl.

* * *

As he moved out of the way of another sword strike, Shu realized he couldn't do this. Hurting Zola just wasn't possible for him.

He was supposed to be her disciple, her student. She meant so many things to him... How was he supposed to attack her?

She seemed pretty content with fighting _him_, though. She didn't say anything, but Shu recognized the next attack as a Hornet Assassin. He barely missed it, though it did knock him back.

"Zola, please!" Shu yelled at her as he sat up. "You have to stop this! I don't know what Nene did to you... But, you have to try and snap out of it!"

Hearing him say that seemed to do something to her. For just a moment, the opaqueness of her eyes left, and they looked normal. In that one second, she just stared at Shu, seemingly shocked at what she had been doing. But as soon as the second was over, that ice blue became clouded once again.

"Zola..."

"Forget about it!" Blue Dragon shouted down to him, ignoring how miserable his User sounded. "The only thing we can do now is fight!"

Shu glared at him. "I'm not fighting Zola!"

"Then would you rather be killed?!"

He had no time to respond - now that Zola was being controlled again, she wasted no time in resuming her efforts.

Blue Dragon tried to swing at Killer Bat a few times, but Shu was steadfastly unwilling. The Shadow had to credit him one thing, though - even if he was childish and incompetent as a User (at least in Blue Dragon's opinion), Shu was probably as stubborn as Blue Dragon himself.

* * *

After going where Marumaro had been thrown, Nene circled around a little. "Ah... I remember you. You're that girl that got in the way of my previous battle with Zola."

"Got in the way! Got in the way!"

Kluke narrowed her eyes at him as she helped Marumaro into a sitting position. "I remember it a little differently. I remember someone attacking Zola viciously, mentally and physically, hiding behind his sick machines as he did so."

"I don't think you should make him mad, maro." Marumaro whispered. "Not like that, maro." Besides, he wanted to be far away when Nene took it out on Kluke for insulting him.

But his presumption was off - Nene only chuckled. "You know, Zola said almost the exact same thing."

"Same thing! Same thing!"

Kluke stood. "She was right then, and I'm right now. Tell me, if that isn't what you're doing now, then what's different?"

He shook his head, grinning broadly. "My dear, you have no idea, all of the things that I have planned. You still are in the dark concerning what I accomplished then, and what I have and will accomplish now. Everything is falling into place perfectly."

"Perfectly! Perfectly!"

Kluke felt a chill run down her spine. What was he talking about? "You can plan all you want. Maybe we won't do it right now, but we _are_ going to stop you."

Nene chuckled again. "You sound more and more like Zola every second. I see that her so-called _justice_ has been rubbing off on you."

"Rubbing off! Rubbing off!"

The way that he had said that... It made Kluke downright angry. The words themselves hadn't been bad, but with the disdain he used when he said them, he might as well have called Zola something particularly unpleasant. "I'd rather be like her than be like you."

He snorted. "If you knew her as well as I do, you wouldn't say that."

"Wouldn't say! Wouldn't say!"

"Leave Zola alone already! Stop talking about her like that!"

Nene smirked. "Why don't we stop talking in general and get down to business?" Without waiting for her to respond, he yelled, "Graviton Ball!"

"Protect Feather!" When the magical energy hit the shield, Kluke knew she wouldn't be able to hold it back. But, like before, the wasn't going to stop her from trying. Phoenix was even more strained than last time, but she could sense her User's determination, and that encouraged her not to give up either.

Besides, they both had a plan.

Nene, however, knew nothing of this. He pushed his hand forward in order to increase his power. "Do you honestly think that will stop me, if it couldn't before?!"

"Couldn't before! Couldn't before!"

Kluke only grinned for the triumph that was about to come. "I don't - but I don't need it to!"

Hoping that she hadn't miscalculated this, Kluke swept her hands to the side, Phoenix doing the same with her wings.

It worked. Like the altered flow of a river, the Graviton Ball flew off to her right.

* * *

Kaede had been sitting with Jiro, holding his hand in the hopes that it would get him to unconsciously recognize her and wake up. While she was doing this, she had also been observing the fight between Nene and Kluke. So when Phoenix deflected the attack, she knew ahead of time to duck and cover Jiro with her arms.

While she wasn't (seriously) injured, Bouquet did not have the benefit of a heads up.

She wailed as she hit the floor, holding the top of her head, the Graviton Ball soaring over her head and hitting the wall.

Once the light and slight smoke had faded from the impact, Bouquet tentatively chanced a look, seeing that it looked much like the crater that had been next to the wall (except that it was on the wall instead of the floor). She briefly wondered if it was a crater because of Nene's attack or the way that Kluke deflected it.

Coming out of her musings, she spotted Jiro and his sister, and quickly made her way over there. She practically fell as she sat down next to them, saying, "I don't know why _I_ have to be the one who always gets attacked by people I'm not fighting!"

Despite a lot of the strength leaving her after seeing her brother in the state he was in, Kaede managed a wry smile. "I guess you came back after all."

Bouquet blinked in surprise. After the way the girl had acted towards her before, she hadn't expected her to be so... friendly. "I wouldn't have been so late if it wasn't for the soldiers. But... What happened to Jiro?"

The short-lived smile dropped off, and Jina looked down at him. "It was Nene-sa-" She cut off abruptly, and for a moment, Bouquet could see pure hatred flash in her eyes. With their facial resemblance, Bouquet found it eerily similar to Jiro. "It was Nene." Kaede bit off the sentence at the end.

Bouquet was about to question this, but there was something from the fights that caught her attention. "Shu!!"

* * *

He heard a cracking sound as his head the ground, and that's when he knew that something was very, very wrong. This thought was further proven when he opened his eyes and everything spun around, the lights on the wall like a strobe.

He could hear her footsteps coming towards him, heavy with what was about to happen. The heaviness wasn't from guilt - it was simply because of unfeeling efficiency.

He scrunched his eyes closed, both to stop everything from moving, and out of fear. Was this how he was going to die, killed by the person who would be his best friend if he didn't have Kluke? It was too awful to think about...

"Blitz Claw!" The sound of Saber Tiger's claws hitting Killer Bat's sword echoed through the room.

"Shu, are you alright, maro?!" He could feel Marumaro's hand on his shoulder. It seemed that his friend had more endurance than he'd thought, if he'd recovered that quickly from Chimera's Graviton Ball.

"I don't know... I'm really dizzy..."

"You can be dizzy someplace else, maro!" Shu felt himself being pulled up slightly, and mentally felt incredibly grateful for Marumaro's reliably to-the-point attitude. "We need to get away from-"

Marumaro didn't get the chance to finish what he was saying. Zola had unleashed some kind of attack - no one had been paying attention, so no one knew which one it was - that had thrown Saber Tiger back, thus doing the same to Marumaro.

There had been one beneficial thing about this, though. In worry for Marumaro's safety, Shu had finally opened his eyes and sat up, yelling his name as he did so.

* * *

"Marumaro! Shu!" Kluke, panicked, had started running towards them.

She made a critical error in that moment. Moving towards her friends out of concern, she and Phoenix had stopped using the Protect Feather.

And that was all the time Nene needed.

* * *

Kaede looked on in shock as Kluke landed a few feet away from her, Phoenix unsummoning.

"Trouble-pyon-pyon!!" Panda flailed her arms, the action almost comical if it wasn't for the dire situation.

"This is really bad..." Bouquet's voice trembled. She tried to think of a plan, but fear was making her mind cloudy.

Nene motioned for Zola to follow him, then started moving where everyone was laid out. "I think it's about time that we finish this."

"Finish this! Finish this!" Oddly enough, Deathroy seemed to be in an even better mood than usual.

Jina gripped her brother's hand tighter. "_No... It can't end like this..._"

To the immense surprise of both Kaede and Bouquet, Kluke moved, lifting her head. Though the ponytail stayed in place, several strands of hair fell out as she looked up. Her eyes locked with Kaede's. "Run. Get away from here."

"_Find your strength, Jina,_" A voice echoed in her head, sounding incredibly similar to her mother. "_Your time has come._"

She met Kluke's gaze with newfound strength, her voice firm as she said, "No."

Bouquet snapped her head around. "Wh-what?"

Kaede stood, putting weight on one foot, then the other. Seeing as she didn't fall - like she'd expected, since she'd been so weak after worrying about Jiro - she thought she'd probably be able to stay on her feet for a while. Long enough to do what she needed. "Nene, if you want to fight with someone, you can fight with me."

He practically laughed as he said, "And what would you hope to do against me, my _friend_?" There was none of the warmth that was usually associated with that word. It had been said in disdain, though not as bad as when he'd spoken of Zola.

"Friend! Friend!"

"Kaede-chan..." She turned around when she heard Panda speak, unwittingly (for the most part) turning her back on Nene. "Are you sure that we can do this, pyon?"

"Do you know any of your attacks?"

The Shadow thought for a moment, then leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

Kaede almost grinned. "I've never done a charge, but if I manage to do one, that might be enough to work. You should have at least two others, though... Do you know what they are?"

Panda shook her head. "No-pyon. I'm sorry, but I don't have any memory of what they are."

"It's okay. What you described to me should be enough to get us through." She hoped that she was right.

Nene sighed wearily. "I'm waiting, child."

"Waiting! Waiting!"

"And you should've continued to wait, instead of interrupting me." She turned around. Before going to fight him, she looked towards Bouquet, her tone gentle as she said, "Watch my brother for me."

Bouquet was a little stunned, but nodded all the same, moving closer to Jiro. Should Kaede fail, she didn't know how in the world she was going to protect anyone, since she could hardly defend _herself_. Still, if things got that bad, it seemed like she wasn't going to have any choice.

Kaede didn't wait - as soon as she'd finished speaking to Bouquet, she charged towards Nene.

Combining their powers like before, Killer Bat and Chimera launched another energy ball in her direction.

In a motion that she didn't entirely control, Jina stepped down and pushed...

The ball exploded against the ground. Before the smoke had even cleared, Kaede and Panda soared upwards from vaulting themselves up before the attack had hit. "Is that the best you can do, Nene?!"

Despite the light taunting, her mind was reeling. How was it even possible for her to jump that high? Her body was lightweight, but that still shouldn't be enough to bring her up so high. Was this the power of a Shadow User?

Nene narrowed his eyes as she landed a few feet away. "Don't let it get to your head. You dodged the first attack, but will you dodge the next ones?"

"Next ones! Next ones!"

Feeling more energized than she had since before the destruction of Mafe, Kaede smirked. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

* * *

Bouquet had been moving Kluke to where Jiro was, when she bumped into something behind her. Shouting, and holding on tightly to Kluke, she whirled around to see-

"It's me." Shu was out of breath. He'd been trying to make his way over to Bouquet, mostly to get Marumaro to some semblance of safety, but he'd lost consciousness for a moment. When he'd woken up, it had been a second before she bumped into him, so he'd never had the chance to say anything.

"Shu..." Bouquet had to try very hard not to cry. Seeing the state that Shu was in, that everyone else was in... It was just too much...

"Come on," he grit his teeth, ignoring his body's protests as he dragged himself and Marumaro. "Let's do this once we get Kluke and Marumaro away from here."

* * *

Kaede moved with surprising agility, left to right, careful to keep away from the Graviton Ball attacks.

She was waiting, for just the right moment. She needed an open opportunity, for Nene to slipup and put too much space between his attacks. That was when she would strike.

A few times she had been tempted to call whoever was conscious, to see if they could help her. But she'd firmly decided against that. She'd caused so much trouble for them, and now she was going to ask them to help her? It hardly seemed fair.

No - this was going to be one of the ways she showed her appreciation to them for showing her the truth.

* * *

After Kluke and Marumaro had been laid next to Jiro, Shu and Bouquet had practically collapsed.

Bouquet, being in better health, sat up first. "Shu... Are you-"

"I'm fine." He was most certainly _not_ fine. But she was too worried as it was.

"I..." She looked down, balling up her apron in her fists, her shoulders shaking. "I can't believe this is happening..."

"Bouquet..." Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up. Those protests were getting louder...

"I don't want to die in this place..." She looked up at him, her face shining with tears. "I don't want _you_ to die in this place." She looked down again. "I'm so scared..."

She was so worried... It made him feel helpless... And that was something he couldn't stand.

Shu swallowed, incredibly embarrassed about what he was going to do. Moving quickly, before he changed his mind, he pulled Bouquet to his side.

Bouquet, half nervous and half ecstatic, looked up at him, pink dusting her cheeks. "Sh-Shu?"

Shu looked away to hide his own blush, though he failed miserably. "It's going to be okay." He surprised himself with how sure he sounded.

She smiled a little, moving closer to him, closing her eyes (at least for the moment). "_If I die here, I'll never get to marry Shu... But I _can_ say that I got him to hug me. It's not as good... But if it has to end like this, I don't think I'd want it any other way._"

* * *

The opportunity came. And Kaede pounced on it.

She skidded to a halt, and set her feet. She'd seen everyone charging up their power, but she still wasn't sure she could do it... But that thought was quickly pushed from her mind; if she doubted herself, then she really wouldn't be able to do it.

Fisting her hands in front of her, she tried to focus her mind on accomplishing it...

She gasped as she started to glow blue. "_It's really working..._"

"You did it, pyon!" Panda cheered. "Now, just do it like I told you, and we'll have this battle-pyon finished!"

"Right!"

It was at this moment that the smoke from the last Graviton Ball cleared, and that was when Nene saw Kaede attaining just the right amount of power for her charge. "_What?! How could she learn so fast...?!_"

Placing her fist in front of her, as if she was blowing into it, Kaede yelled, "Flare!"

Panda mimicked the action, with one exception - unlike her User, she started breathing fire.

The high-temperature flames hit Chimera with exceptional accuracy. Nene staggered, holding his arm where the pain seemed worse. To be defeated by the likes of her...

Well, he still had a few things up his sleeve.

One of which happened right away.

The thing that Kaede and Panda hadn't taken into account was Zola's position - the attack wasn't even close to hitting her.

Unbeknownst to Jina, when Nene jerked his head in the specified direction, Zola took off after her target.

* * *

Jiro groaned, rolling to the side a little. Where was he? What had happened to him? Why was he... Why was he lying on the _floor_? That question alone woke him up a little more, and he struggled to push himself up.

"Jiro!" Shu... His voice was echoing a little...

He yelled his name again, and it sounded a little clearer this time.

Jiro opened his eyes, blinking groggily. "Wh... What's going-"

"Jiro, you should've seen it!" Bouquet interrupted excitedly. "Your sister attacked Nene with her Shadow!"

"_What_?" That definitely woke him up the rest of the way, and he sat up so quickly that he nearly knocked heads with Shu.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Shut up." Jiro said it to him almost absentmindedly, starting to look around wildly. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw her, just a few feet away from an injured Nene.

He hauled himself to his feet, ignoring Shu and Bouquet's yells for him to stay put, and broke into a run.

When he took the first step, he thought he was going to fall over - how had Nene hurt him so bad? - but he managed to stay up and moving.

He couldn't let it happen again. He wouldn't _allow_ it to happen again.

His sister was back. And, as far as he was concerned, it was going to stay that way.

* * *

Shu groaned. "Sometimes I think Jiro is more stubborn than I am..."

Bouquet giggled. "No one's as stubborn and determined as my Darling!"

As she moved closer to him, Shu was starting to have second thoughts about trying to comfort her. "Y-yeah... Thanks, I guess."

Bouquet was about to reply, but she caught off as she saw the horrified look on Shu's face. "Shu? What's wrong?"

Without saying anything, he pushed her onto the ground. As she hit the floor, she heard Blue Dragon summon. And then she heard Shu cry out as he protected her from Killer Bat's attack.

"Shu!!"

* * *

He turned around when he heard everything that was happening behind him. Seeing Shu knocked out, Blue Dragon unsummoned, and Bouquet trying to wake him up, Jiro cursed harshly. How had they gotten into such a horrible situation? And it just seemed to be getting worse with every passing moment.

"Nene!!" He turned around again when his sister yelled at Grand Kingdom's king when he started to chuckle.

"Why are you so angry, dear? Just a little while ago you were saying that they were your enemies."

"Enemies! Enemies!"

"That was before I knew that you were lying to me!"

"How are you so sure that I was lying to you?"

"So sure! So sure!"

"You hurt my brother - you could've _killed_ him. Speaking of that, if we're such good _friends_, why did you attack me with Chimera when I was completely defenseless? And my own Shadow told me that she wanted to be summoned so that she could tell me how horrible you are. If those things aren't reason enough, what other proof do I need?"

"You shouldn't presume things, Kaede," Nene straightened. "Especially not about things that are much bigger than you know."

"Much bigger! Much bigger!"

She was about to counter, but Panda interrupted her. "He's trying to distract you, Kaede-chan! Stop talking with him so we can finish this! Pyon!"

Kaede's gaze only softened when she turned to look at her Shadow. "You're right." The diamond-sharpness returned to her eyes as she looked back at Nene. "Let's finish this!"

As she charged off to attack Nene in what would hopefully be the last time, something told Jiro to turn around. He did so, and he felt his heart twist. "_Zola..._"

She was coming for his sister. _Zola_ was coming for his _sister_...

From what he figured, he had two choices. The first one was much too hard to do, and was quickly dismissed. That left him with the second option; Jina wasn't going to like it at all, but that was a moot point if Zola killed her.

Jiro brought out Minotauros, then moved quickly, waiting for the right opportunity, similar to how his sister had only moments before.

When he saw the tip of Killer Bat's sword start to glow, he moved to the side, blocking Kaede from the line of fire, closing his eyes and waiting for the attack.

Kaede turned around when she heard it hit, but didn't have the chance to see anything except a flash of her brother's tunic - wholeheartedly wishing that this would stop happening to everyone, the impact of the attack threw her back.

* * *

It was the sound that woke Kluke. As she sat up quickly, she bumped into Marumaro, who rolled away with a "maro". Since he didn't sound that injured, she ignored him for the most part, holding her head - she had a splitting headache.

She immediately started to assess the situation. To her right, Bouquet was helping a weak Shu stand up, his arm thrown over her shoulders. To her left, she looked over just in time to see Jiro fall to the ground.

She was about to yell his name, but someone beat her to it.

* * *

"Jiro!!" Zola looked on, horrified. "_No... Please... Not him..._"

"You..." Kaede, who had sat up almost immediately, was trembling with rage. "How could you?!!"

"I..." She was at a loss for words. Everything that had happened was fuzzy in her mind. The only thing that was remotely clear was the fact that she had hurt Jiro, and that was because of the tremendous guilt it was causing.

Jina was about to yell at her again, but that was when a soldier burst through the doors.

Nene narrowed his eyes. "I said that I wanted no one else in here."

"No one! No one!"

"I know, Nene-sama - please forgive my intrusion, but something has happened. The scientists say that the excavation has begun to react."

Despite her enragement, Kaede's eyes widened. She knew very little about what was known to Nene's most trusted as the excavation, except that it had to do with the Extra Seven, and she knew more than most. The soldier who had came in probably had no idea what it was, was just passing on information.

But she did know one thing - when he had first told her about it, Nene had said that once the excavation "reacted", the descendants of the Warriors of Light would have nothing but trouble.

A wide grin spread across Nene's face. "Excellent. It's time for us to go, then. Zola," He turned towards her, his voice thick with fake sweetness. "It's time for you to make a decision."

"Decision! Decision!"

"I don't care what you say. I'm not making any deals with you." Her voice was hoarse, her eyes darting to the right when she saw Jiro's sister run towards her brother.

"Oh, I think you might make an exception this time. I'll give you three choices. The first is that you can come along with me quietly and stop this nonsense, like you should have when you came here the first time. The second choice is that Chimera, can, ah... calm you down a bit, like he did before, and I'll just instruct you to come with me. And the final option, I'll give you a little incentive..." At that moment, his smile seemed to become even crueler than it had a moment ago. "I'll even let you decide which of the children dies first."

"Dies first! Dies first!"

Zola felt her blood run cold. She... She couldn't let anything (else, she reminded herself harshly) happen to the kids. And if she had to deal with Nene for a while in order to protect them, then so be it.

She took a few steps, just until she was near Nene. She kept her eyes trained on her feet, not speaking, moving her head in a slight nod to let him know that she was complying.

"Good. You made the right choice."

"Right choice! Right choice!"

"Zola!" She looked up, seeing Kluke looking at her, the unspoken question in her eyes.

Her own eyes held the answer: _Leave me. Get out of here._

"No!" Kluke tried to get to her, but Marumaro grabbed her by her waistcloth.

"Don't, maro! Not while Nene's there, maro!"

"Let go of-"

"We're leaving now," Nene didn't shout, but he raised his voice enough to be heard over anyone talking, and to call attention to anyone who was currently silent. "Once I've gone, you'll have fifteen minutes to get out of here before I call the soldiers to throw you back in that cell. Sorry - it's been fun, but some important things have come up."

"Important things! Important things!"

Shu shot forward, basically tumbling out of Bouquet's grasp, righting himself before starting to shout, "You-"

"Let it go," Zola interrupted him. Her lips upturned in a small smile. "We'll work all of this out, but now is not the time." "_I just hope that the next time I see them in my right mind, Jiro will be alright._"

Shu's hand tightened into a fist. "... Be careful, Zola."

She simply nodded; she knew that if she tried to say anything else, it would be too hard for her to leave.

Nene turned around at the last moment. "Ah, before I forget... I have something for you, Kaede." Nene took a small bag that was hooked to his belt, tossing it a bit carelessly near her. Something inside it "clinked" as it hit the ground. "I'm sure that you'll find it's contents... _interesting_."

In a rare occasion, Deathroy didn't mimic, but cackled.

Without another word or gesture from them, Nene left the throne room, Zola following him while wondering what was going to become of herself.

Everyone spun around when Jiro coughed. "Zola..." he tried to get up, but cried out in pain, grabbing his shoulder.

"Oniichan!!" Kaede knelt next to him, tears in her eyes.

"Pyon!!" Panda lifted her arms, her paws shining with magic. For a second, everyone was blinded by a bright light. When it went away, Jiro was surrounded momentarily by blue lights that swirled around him. After it was gone, there was one more flash, and then from above...

With the hand that wasn't held over her chest, Kluke held an open palm, as if to catch the glowing balls of light falling to the ground. "It's beautiful..."

Jiro held his arm out, his face full of surprise as he tested the movement of his hand. "It... It stopped hurting... And my strength feels like it's coming back." He sat up fully, already seeming to be doing better.

"Hey! I don't feel dizzy anymore!" Shu cried out happily.

Bouquet poked one of the balls of light, pulling her hand away as it disintegrated into smaller balls before vanishing all together. "It must be some kind of healing skill. A non-offensive attack, like Hippo-chan's transformation..."

"We can figure out about it later, maro!" Marumaro jumped up and down. "Let's get out of here before those soldiers show up, maro!"

Jiro smiled warmly at his sister, emotions flickering in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're safe... Jina."

She returned his smile, but closed her eyes shook her head. "No, Oniichan."

"Hm?" he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Her eyes opened. "From now on, I want to be known by my middle name..." And she smiled more brightly than she had for a long time. "Kaede."

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_**Chapter Preview**_

*cue scenes from next chapter in background*

Narrator: After escaping from Nene's Fortress, the Shu-tachi try to figure out what to do next. Also, it seems like Jiro's little sister may have information that proves useful. What will they learn from her?

Kluke: I'd like to learn how to cook!

Bouquet: I want to learn more about Panda's healing attack!

Marumaro: I would like to learn more about Kaede, maro...

Shu: ... I don't want to learn anything.

Jiro: Can't we find out something useful?

Kaede: *sigh* I hope I'll be able to help everyone...

Narrator: Next chapter of Blue Dragon: Maple Leaf - A New Path.

* * *

**Well, that's the end of **_**The Final Warrior of Light**_**. I'm sorry that it took so long! However, the story is far from over. ;) I'm going to reply to reviews of this chapter in the first chapter of **_**Maple Leaf**_**, so feel free to ask things as normal. I'm horribly late with all of my stories - including ones that haven't been uploaded yet - so I don't know when I'll get around to doing **_**Maple Leaf**_**. But it **_**will**_** be worked on seriously after 10 hits. :) Oh, before I forget, here's a quick note:**

**Note: The movements for Kaede and Panda's Flare attack is basically the same as Jiro's Flare attack in the game. Also, the blue lights that surrounded Jiro are the same blue lights that surround characters in the game when they get healed.**

**So, that's all I need to mention. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try to get all of my stories updated soon. See you soon! :D**


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